VZCZCXRO8599
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #0041/01 0161032
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161032Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9807
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0328
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MAPUTO 000041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
DRL/ILCSR FOR TU DANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE -- CHILD LABOR INFORMATION 
 
REF: 08 STATE 127448 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: The Government of the Republic of Mozambique 
(GRM) is party to the ILO convention against the worst forms 
of child labor. The GRM has a regulatory framework in place 
to monitor and prosecute infractions of the labor code, but 
does not have a regulatory body specifically devoted to child 
labor cases. The Ministry of Labor (MOL), in conjunction with 
multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs), continues to develop and implement programs to combat 
the worst forms of child 
labor, but the impact remains minimal. Child labor and forced 
and bonded labor remain common practices, particularly in 
rural areas, but also in urban domestic settings. UNICEF 
estimates that 32 percent of children between the ages of 7 
and 17 years old are engaged in economic activities, with 40 
percent of children in rural areas working and 16 percent of 
urban children involved in economic activities.  Even at the 
age of seven, six percent of Mozambique's children are 
engaged in productive activities.  Child labor is 
particularly prominent in the cotton and tobacco agricultural 
sectors.  Major factors contributing to child labor include 
chronic family poverty, lack of employment for adults, 
breakdown of family support mechanisms, an inadequate 
education system, gender inequality, and the increasing 
impact of HIV/AIDS. END SUMMARY. 
 
Laws Proscribing the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. Law 8/98 sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years, 
but, in exceptional cases, allows for children between the 
ages of 12 and 15 to work with the joint approval of the 
Ministries of Labor (MOL), Health, and Education. The law 
sets restricted conditions on the work that minors between 
the ages of 15 and 18 may perform, limits the number of hours 
they can work, and establishes training, education, and 
medical exam requirements. Children between the ages of 15 
and 18 are prohibited from being employed in unhealthy or 
dangerous occupations or occupations requiring significant 
physical effort, as determined by the MOL. Article 79 of the 
Labor Law stipulates that employers must provide children 
between 12 and 15 with vocational training and offer 
age-appropriate work conditions.  For children between 15 and 
18 years of age, the employer is required to provide for 
their education and professional training and to ensure 
conditions of work that are not damaging to their physical 
and moral development. In April 2007, the Council of 
Ministers approved a draft Child Protection Law and forwarded 
the draft to the National Assembly for final approval, which 
was promulgated by the President in June 2008.  The new law 
ensures greater protection of children's rights against 
discrimination, violence, and exploitation, and identifies 
children's rights to education, medical treatment, and 
parental support.  The law also calls for the establishment 
of a National Council on Children to coordinate the GRM's 
activities related to children's rights. 
 
¶3. For minors under 18 years, the maximum workweek is 38 
hours and the maximum workday is 7 hours. Children must 
undergo a medical examination before beginning work. By law, 
children must be paid at least the minimum wage or a minimum 
of two-thirds of the adult salary, whichever is higher. 
Children, including those under the age of 15, commonly 
worked on family farms in seasonal harvests or commercial 
plantations, where they were paid on a piecework basis.  The 
minimum age for military recruitment or involvement in armed 
conflict is 18.  In the urban informal sector children 
performed such tasks as guarding cars, collecting scrap 
metal, working as vendors, and selling trinkets and food in 
the streets, and presumably are paid on a piecework basis. 
Children also are employed as poorly paid domestic laborers, 
and as employees in informal bars where they are often also 
prostituted. 
 
¶4. In April Mozambique passed an Anti-Trafficking in Persons 
Law which prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons; 
however, there continued to be reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, through, or within the country. 
Traffickers can also be prosecuted using laws on sexual 
assault, rape, abduction, and child abuse. Post is unaware of 
any prosecutions or convictions for trafficking cases during 
the year; however, the new law provides for penalties of 16 
to 20 years imprisonment for those recruiting or facilitating 
the exploitation of a person for purposes of prostitution, 
forced labor, slavery, or involuntary debt servitude.  The 
government has responded to trafficking-related allegations 
 
MAPUTO 00000041  002 OF 004 
 
 
in the press by conducting follow-up investigations, issuing 
public awareness announcements, and holding local workshops. 
The police conducted general training on vulnerable children, 
including trafficking, in provinces throughout the country, 
and have established an Anti-Trafficking Police Brigade. 
Trained police officials continued to staff women's shelters 
at police stations to protect trafficking victims in Maputo, 
Beira, Nampula, and several large towns in Gaza 
Province.  The Ministry of Interior has established 204 
Victim Support Centers across the country specifically 
designed to support child victims of crimes among other 
vulnerable groups. 
 
¶5. Save the Children funds the country's only known shelter 
for trafficking victims. The shelter is located half way 
between Maputo and the South African border post of Ressano 
Garcia, which is a major crossing point for trafficked 
persons.  The shelter serves approximately 15 children. The 
shelter also works with other NGOs on the border to screen 
for victims of trafficking among the hundreds of illegal 
Mozambican immigrants repatriated each month by South African 
immigration authorities.  The Department of Migration 
maintains an agreement with the Government of South Africa to 
share facilities and information, including information on 
trafficking in persons. 
 
¶6. The government ratified ILO Conventions 29, 138, and 182 
in June 2003. Mozambique ratified the UN Convention on the 
Rights of the Child in April 1994, the UN Optional Protocol 
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of 
Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography in March 
2003, and the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons in September 2006.  Focus on 
children's rights continues to be a primary objective of the 
government, particularly as it relates to HIV/AIDS, violence 
against children, and trafficking in persons. 
 
Implementation and Enforcement of Labor Laws 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. The MOL regulates child labor in both the informal and 
formal sectors. Labor inspectors are authorized to obtain 
court orders and use police to enforce compliance with child 
labor provisions.  Violations of child labor provisions are 
punishable with fines ranging from 1 to 40 times the monthly 
minimum wage.  Enforcement mechanisms generally are adequate 
in the formal sector, but remain poor in the regulation of 
informal child labor. The Labor Inspectorate and police force 
lack adequate staff, funds, and training to investigate child 
labor cases, especially in areas outside of the capital, 
where many cases occur. In 2007, the MOL carried out 4,998 
non-specific inspections of businesses which involved 103,649 
workers.  Post is unaware of any child labor investigations 
occurring in 2008.  The 
GRM provides training for police on child prostitution, 
abuse, (including pornography), and trafficking; however, 
there is no specialized child labor training for the Labor 
Inspectorate. The GRM has disseminated information and 
provided education about the dangers of child labor. 
 
Social Programs to Counter Child Labor 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. The MOL and other organizations continue to do some work 
on child labor issues, but with little impact. The MOL has 
developed an action plan for reducing child labor and 
allocated funds to organize seminars to discuss this issue. 
The trade union movement in Mozambique also has been involved 
in the eradication of child labor.  The Confederation of 
Trade Unions (OTM) has participated in several initiatives 
against child labor, particularly in rural areas, including 
participation in seminars and workshops as well as in the 
design of the child labor regulations. 
 
¶9. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International 
Labor Affairs funded one project in Mozambique, which began 
in 2005, and closed in late-2008.  The project targeted 
children in 18 communities in Tete Province for withdrawal 
and prevention from work in agriculture, as domestics, in 
the streets, and commercial sexual exploitation.  The major 
focus is to withdraw or prevent from exploitative labor 
approximately 2,600 children through the provision of 
educational and non-educational services. 
 
¶10. The GRM also has programs aimed at supporting children 
from impoverished families to stay in school and away from 
the labor market and the worst forms of child labor. For 
 
MAPUTO 00000041  003 OF 004 
 
 
example, the GRM has established a scholarship program to 
cover the costs of school materials and fees for children. 
These programs are targeted particularly at vulnerable groups 
affected by HIV/AIDS such as young girls, orphans, and 
child-headed households.  Education is compulsory and free 
through the age of 12, but there is a matriculation fee for 
each child, and children are responsible for purchasing 
books, uniforms, and school supplies (spending on these 
associated costs often was higher than matriculation fees). 
Such fees and associated costs represented a significant 
financial burden for many families. Children who have a 
certificate that testifies that their parents' incomes are 
below a certain poverty level do not pay any matriculation 
fees.  Enforcement of compulsory education laws is 
inconsistent due to the lack of resources and the need for 
additional schools. 
 
National Policy and Plan of Action 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11. While the Ministry of Education and Culture has made 
significant progress in increasing school enrollments at all 
levels, significant challenges remain.  UNICEF estimates that 
94 percent of children were enrolled in primary education in 
Mozambique.  Completion rates remain much lower: in 2006, 
only 29 percent of girls and 41 percent of boys completed 
primary school. The government's 2007 economic and social 
plan aims to increase the overall number of students by 13 
percent as well as recruit 9,000 
new teachers, though this is not a budgetary priority.  The 
GRM's Second Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2006-2010 also 
includes an education investment component.  Over the next 
several years the government set goals to achieve gender 
equilibrium in primary schools, and by 2015 ensure that all 
children complete the full cycle of primary education.  The 
program also seeks to improve access to and quality of 
education at all levels, by investing in teacher training and 
school equipment (particularly in rural areas), by increasing 
the amount of time children spend at school, by providing 
additional vocational programs, and by orienting the 
curriculum to specific employment opportunities. 
 
¶12. The Ministry of Education and Culture and UNICEF are 
working together in Zambezia Province to implement an 
innovative package of school interventions to improve access 
and quality, known as the Child-Friendly School (CFS) 
initiative. CFS includes learning and teaching material, 
extracurricular life skills programs on HIV/AIDS prevention 
and girls' empowerment, and access to social services for 
orphaned and vulnerable children. The program will be 
implemented in all primary schools in seven model districts 
over the next three years, with the goal of benefiting some 
300,000 children. 
 
¶13. UNICEF, UNESCO, and national broadcasters Radio 
Mozambique and Television Mozambique continue the 
Child-to-Child radio and television programs. The radio 
program involves 233 children between the ages of eight and 
18 working on more than two dozen programs broadcast 
provincially and nationally in 16 local languages and 
Portuguese. Discussion topics include themes such as child 
abuse, violence, and trafficking, HIV/AIDS and health 
awareness, and girls' access to education. To ensure 
nationwide outreach, the programs occasionally are also 
broadcast live from districts and remote communities. The 
television program, entitled "Roda Viva" is dedicated to 
children's rights and issues of interest to young people and 
involves 16 children in program design, production, and 
presentation. 
 
Progress Towards Elimination of Child Labor 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶14. Although forced and bonded labor by children is 
prohibited by law, it is common in rural areas.  A Labor 
Force Survey conducted by the National Institute of 
Statistics in 2004-05 revealed that 32 percent of children 
between ages 7 and 17 were engaged in some form of economic 
activity.  Of this number, it was estimated that 40 percent 
of children in rural areas work, while only 16 percent of 
children in urban areas work.  The same report revealed that 
the provinces with the highest levels of economically active 
children were Tete, Inhambane, Manica, and Nampula (all 
between 38-51 percent).  UNICEF estimates that more than one 
million Mozambican children under 14 years of age are subject 
to exploitative labor. The most common forms of child labor 
included children working on family farms, in 
 
MAPUTO 00000041  004 OF 004 
 
 
commercial agriculture, as domestics, and as prostitutes. 
 
¶15. The major factors contributing to child labor in 
Mozambique were chronic family poverty, lack of employment 
for adults, breakdown of family support mechanisms, an 
inadequate education system, gender inequality, and the 
increasing impact of HIV/AIDS.  Regarding education, UNICEF 
reports that more than half of primary school-aged children 
leave school before they complete grade five; many of these 
children eventually enter the informal job market, where they 
are subject to abuse and exploitation.  Concerning the effect 
of HIV/AIDS, approximately 99,000 children under the age of 
15 were living with the virus, the majority below the age of 
five, and less than 3 percent of eligible children are 
receiving anti-retroviral treatment.  According to UNICEF, of 
the country's 1.6 million orphans, 
some 380,000 have been orphaned due to AIDS, representing 
more than 20 percent of the total orphaned population. 
Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS often are forced to work 
because they are left without any adult family members or 
with only extended family members who were unable to support 
them. 
Amani